Artificial nail and method of applying the same

ABSTRACT

A preformed artificial nail is provided having a convex upper surface and a concave undersurface which, together, define a forwardly extending free end and a recessed trailing end which terminates in an arcuate wall formed intermediate the length of the nail. This wall includes a forwardly extending groove positioned above the undersuface of the free end of the nail. A mass of viscous adhesive material is positioned atop the natural nail and the artificial nail is forced downwardly so that the adhesive fills the space between the natural nail and the undersurface of the artificial nail and a small excess thereof is exuded forwardly into the groove.

United States Patent [191 .im 3,750,684

[ 1 Aug. 7, 1973 ARTIFICIAL NAIL AND METHOD 0]? Primary Examiner-Louis G. Manccne pp m THE E Assistant Examiner-Gregory E. McNeill [76] Inventor: Dolores M. Russell, 1820 Alice St., Atmmey'MaX Dressler Arnold Gulko et Merrick, N.\. 11566 [22] Filed: July 13, 1972 ACT [21] Appl. No.: 271,513 A preformed artificial nail is provided having a convex upper surface and a concave undersurface which, together, define a forwardly extending free end and a refi i 132/ kg g E3 cessed trailing end which terminates in an arcuate wall 5 d 5 73 g 7 formed intermediate the length of the nail. This wall in- V cludes a forwardly extending groove positioned above 132/753 128/132 2/21 the undersuface of the free end of the nail. A mass of viscous adhesive material is positioned atop the natural [56] References Cited nail and the artificial nail is forced downwardly so that UNITED STATES PATENTS the adhesive fills the space between the natural nail and 3,502,088 3/1970 Jarby 132/73 the undersurface of the artificial nail and a small excess 2,487,101 1l/l949 Colby et al. 2/21 thereof is exuded forwardly into the groove.

3,487,831 6/1970 Jaume et al 128/132 7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PAIENTEUAUB 1191a llillll/ 7 A i ARTIFICIAL NAIL AND METHOD OF APPLYING THE SAME The present invention relates to artificial nails and to the application of such nails to human fingers.

Many people, and especially nail biters, desire to cover their own nails with more attractive artificial nails. The wearing of artificial nails improves the appearance of the wearer and, in many instances, it can serve to help break the nail biting habit. Also, they are applied to weak, brittle, or chronically damaged nails providing, in essence, a prosthetic device. The artificial nails of this invention are useful for both men and women whose natural fingernails are undesirably formed or shortened, it being understood that the precise shape, color and length of the artificial nails will vary depending on the individual who is to wear the nail. With this in mind, the drawings show a fingernail shaped for use on a ladys finger, but the invention is not so-limited.

Preformed nails have previously been applied, but these nails have been difficult to apply since the underlying nail structure varies so greatly. Using adhesives in thin film form, adhesion has been poor and some of the adhesives damage the natural nail. Also, and when excess adhesive material is used, it exudes forwardly and gets under the free end of the artificial nail where it alters the desired nail angle and causes discomfort. Also, the adhesive bond between the adhesive and the artificial nail is not as strong as might be desired, causing the artificial nail to snap off when use of the fingers applies an upward pressure to the free end of the artificial nail, and limiting the capacity of the wearer to use his hands in common tasks.

As a result of these inadequacies, efforts have been made to build the artificial nail directly on the natural nail. This has worked quite well, but it requires considerable skill and is slow and tedious.

In this invention, the undersurface of the artificial nail is formed so that the trailing end of the artificial nail is recessed with the recess terminating in a groove which extends forwardly into the free end of the artificial nail. As a result, when a mass of viscous adhesive is positioned atop the natural nail,.and the artificial nail is forced downwardly into its desired ultimate position, the adhesive completely fills the space between the natural and artificial nail and the excess adhesive exudes forwardly and is received in the groove. In this way, this excess adhesive (which must be present to insure that the recessed undersurface of the artificial nail is uniformly and completely contacted by the adhesive material) produces an advantageous locking action and it does not exude under the natural nail or move forwardly under the free end of the artificial nail where it would alter the desired nail angle or induce delamination on use. Also, the use of a mass of adhesive which fills all spaces eliminates the hazard of water leaking in which leads to the formation of mildew which exhibits a green discoloration.

The invention will be more fully described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG, 1 is a side elevation showing a preformed artificial nail in cross section affixed on the forward end of a finger;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the preformed artificial nail;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the nail of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the nail shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing the artificial nail being applied, and indicating the new action which takes place in this invention.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a preformed artificial nail l0, constructed in accordance with this invention, secured in place over the shortened natural nail 11 on a finger 12. The artificial nail 10 is secured in place by means of a mass of adhesive 13 which is formed between the artificial nail I0 and the natural nail 11.

As will be apparent, the natural nail 11 is one which has been shortened by biting, chronic damage, breakage, clipped back, or the like, to bare part of the forward end of the finger 14 which would normally underlie a full length natural nail. The nail I0 is shaped in the manner of a conventional ladies nail. As will be evident, the conventional nail is convexly curved from the cuticle end of the nail out to the tip and similarly curved from side to side.

Before discussing the specific coaction among the artificial nail 10, the natural nail 11, and the adhesive mass 13, it is first desired to describe the artificial nail in greater detail, reference being had to each of FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4. As can be seen in these figures, the artificial nail 10 is constituted by a generally concavoconvex molded plastic piece resembling a full size natural nail. The convex upper surface 15 of the nail 10 is formed and finished to resemble a natural nail. The molded piece is also formed to include a concave undersurface 16 which, with the upper surface 15, defines a forwardly extending free end 17 and a recessed trailing end 18.

As can be seen, the concave undersurface extends from the forward end to the rearward end of the nail.

The recess 18 terminates in an arcuate wall 19 positioned intermediate the length of the nail 10, the wall 19 containing a forwardly extending groove 20 positioned above the undersurface 16 of the free end 17 to receive excess adhesive material as will later be more fully explained. The wall 19 is normally positioned so that it extends forwardly to about the midpoint along the length of the nail.

Referring now to FIG. 5, this figure shows the elements at an intermediate stage. The natural nail 11 has been prepared, e.g., the cuticle has been removed and the exposed surface roughened, as with an emery board, and a mass of adhesive material 13 has been placed on the nail 11. The proportion of adhesive must be regulated to insure that enough is used to provide a small excess which enters groove 20, but without so much being used that the excess cannot be accommodated. The amount used will depend on the shape and angle of the nail I0 and precise proportioning is easily arrived at with experience. In any event, a number of differently sized artificial nails will be supplied so that one can be selected having a width which corresponds with the width of the natural nail and which possesses a length from the trailing end to the wall 19 which'is slightly longer than the length of the natural nail 11. As a result, and as pictured in FIGS. I and 5, the wall 19 is positioned immediately forward of the nail 11.

It is essential that excess adhesive exuded into the space between the nail l l and the wall 19 not either be forced under the nail 11 or deposited on the undersurface 16 of the free end 17. The presence of groove 20 permits this to be carried out. The groove 20 is small but it is essential to enable proper application of the preformed artificial nail 10.

in FIG. 5, the nail 10 is forced downwardly as shown by Arrow A until the adhesive 13 (which is a relatively viscous fluid) completely fills the space between nail 11 and the undersurface 18 of the artificial nail. Excess adhesive exudes forwardly into the groove 20 as shown by Arrow B. The adhesive is one which cures with time and the artificial nail is held in place while the adhesive hardens.

It will be observed that the adhesive material 13 which enters the groove 20 provides an interengagement between the adhesive material, when it hardens, and the artificial nail, and this serves to reduce the tendency of the artificial nail to snap off when a lifting pressure is imposed on the free end of the nail. It is possible that this improved resistance to snapping off is obtained because the adhesion of the adhesive material to the natural nail is better than it is to the artificial nail, with the interengagement referred to shifting the load from the interface between the adhesive and artificial nail to the interface between the adhesive and the natural nail.

The chemical nature of the artificial nail l and the adhesive material 13 are of secondary significance so long as the adhesive is capable of providing an adequate bond to both the artificial nail and the natural nail. As previously noted, the bond to the artificial nail is generally less satisfactory than the bond to the natural nail and this is accommodated in part by the locking action noted hereinbefore. While numerous plastics and adhesives are potentially applicable, I have found that monomer-polymer mixtures, such as methyl methacrylate polymer dispersed in methyl methacrylate monomer are particularly advantageous. Such mixtures can be molded to form the performed artificial nail, and these same mixtures, in the form of a paste deposited on the natural nail and allowed to thicken somewhat, form a very desirable adhesive mass 13. These pastes are well known, and are referred to as methyl methacrylate monomer-polymer syrups. These are mixed as needed and include an initiator (a peroxide catalyst such as benzoyl peroxide) so that they harden slowly on standing.

These known syrups are commonly used in dentistry and are available in commerce. They adhere well to methyl methacrylate polymer (especially a molding made from the same syrup), and also to natural nails which are roughened to enhance adhesion. The adhesion to skin is poor, but this is not unusual.

In addition to the methyl methacrylate monomerpolymer syrups, any other adhesive which hardens on standing in the absence of air and which is available in a viscous liquid condition can be used. These are further illustrated by polyester systems in which an unsaturated polyester resin (maleic anhydride-ethylene glycol polyester) is dissolved in liquid vinyl monomer (styrene) and catalyzed with conventional peroxy initiators and amines to lower the curing temperature. Also, mixtures of liquid hydroxy functional resins and polyisocyanate curing agents (toluene diisocyanate) can be used as well as epoxy resin mixtures with amine curing agents. While all of these are useful, the methacrylate syrups are the safest and'most effective.

The methyl methacrylate polymer plastics for making the artificial nails are further illustrated by Rohm &

Haas Plexiglas molding powders V(8ll), V(920), VM, and VS.

To illustrate the method of this invention, the following steps are performed:

a. The real nail is'trimmed back to the line where it is no longer attached to the nail bed at the outermost portion of the finger.

b. Cuticle cream is applied and the cuticle loosened with a pusher. The cuticle must be loose enough to run the fine tip of the pusher all around the outer edges of the natural nail. More important is the fine and firmly adhered film of cuticle at the base (or cuticle) end of the nail. This must be removed or the adherence of the artificial nail is reduced. The cuticle is trimmed where necessary to remove any frayed edges and the cream is then washed off thoroughly with soap and water. This insures a clean nail. It is then completely dried and c. roughed up with an emery board. Care must be taken not to overdo the roughing and thereby weaken the real nail, and yet all traces of the thin film of cuticle referred to in (b) above should be removed. This is achieved by using firm, small, circular motions with a series of emery board tips. It requires several emery boards since only the tip end can be utilized in this process, and it quickly becomes impacted with cuticle and loses it effectiveness.

Note: Throughout steps (b) and (c), the same safety precautions used in routine manicuring' are used to safeguard the lunula or moon portion of the real nail, where the layers of cells are manufactured and/or built up to produce the real nail.

d. A hardenable methyl methacrylate monomerpolymer syrup is then formulated and allowed to harden until it is a viscous mass formablewith-finger pressure and this mass is placed on the natural nail. The natural nail ispreferably first moistened with monomer and the end of the artificial nail that will cover the natural nail is desirably dipped in the monomer to maximize adhesion. The proportioning of the components in the syrup is conventional and well known, approximately equal proportions by volume being customary. The artificial nail is then positioned and pressed downwardly to cause the adhesive mass to fill the space between the respective nails and cause the excess to exude into the groove of the artificial nail. The exact amount of adhesive will vary from nail to nail and will be easily determined by the operator through experience. After application, the adhesive is allowed to harden which takes a few minutes.

e. After the adhesive has hardened, the nail is smoothed (buffed with an emery board) and any corrections regarding length, etc. are made. The nail is then considered finished and is polished, if

. desired.

The invention is defined in the claims which follow.

1. A preformed artificial nail comprising a concavoconvex molded piece having a convex upper surface formed and finished to resemble a natural nail; and a concave undersurface extending from the forward end to the rearward end which, with said upper surface, defines a forwardly extending free end and a recessed trailing end; said recessed trailing end terminating in an arcuate wall formed intermediate the length of said nail, said wall including a forwardly extending groove positioned above the undersurface of said free end.

2. A preformed artificial nail as recited in claim 1 in which said nail is constituted by an elongated molded plastic piece.

3. A preformed artificial nail as recited in claim 2 in which said nail has the shape and appearance of a ladys nail.

4. A preformed artificial nail as recited in claim 2 in which said nail is a molded piece of methyl methacrylate.

5. A preformed artificial nail as recited in claim 1 in which said arcuate wall extends forwardly of the nail to about the midpoint along the length of the nail.

6. A method of applying a preformed artifical nail comprising positioning the recessed trailing end of the artificial nail of claim 1 over a shortened natural nail with the said arcuate wall immediately forward of the natural nail, said natural nail having a mass of viscous adhesive overlying the same, forcing the artificial nail downwardly until said adhesive completely fills the space between the natural nail and the undersurface of the artificial nail, and a small excess thereof exudes forwardly into said groove.

7. A method as recited in claim 6 in which said artificial nail is a molded piece of methyl methacrylate polymer and said adhesive as a methyl methacrylate monomer-polymer syrup. 

1. A preformed artificial nail comprising a concavo-convex molded piece having a convex upper surface formed and finished to resemble a natural nail; and a concave undersurface extending from the forward end to the rearward end which, with said upper surface, defines a forwardly extending free end and a recessed trailing end; said recessed trailing end terminating in an arcuate wall formed intermediate the length of said nail, said wall including a forwardly extending groove positioned above the undersurface of said free end.
 2. A preformed artificial nail as recited in claim 1 in which said nail is constituted by an elongated molded plastic piece.
 3. A preformed artificial nail as recited in claim 2 in which said nail has the shape and appearance of a lady''s nail.
 4. A preformed artificial nail as recited in claim 2 in which said nail is a molded piece of methyl methacrylate.
 5. A preformed artificial nail as recited in claim 1 in which said arcuate wall extends forwardly of the nail to about the midpoint along the length of the nail.
 6. A method of applying a preformed artifical nail comprising positioning the recessed trailing end of the artificial nail of claim 1 over a shortened natural nail with the said arcuate wall immediately forward of the natural nail, said natural nail having a mass of viscous adhesive overlying the same, forcing the artificial nail downwardly until said adhesive completely fills the space between the natural nail and the undersurface of the artificial nail, and a small excess thereof exudes forwardly into said groove.
 7. A method as recited in claim 6 in which said artificial nail is a molded piece of methyl methacrylate polymer and said adhesive as a methyl methacrylate monomer-polymer syrup. 